On Thursday evening, over 300 transgender Utahns and supporters braved the cold to protest on the steps of the Utah Capitol, where H.B. The “trans bath bill,” or the Sex-Based Restrooms for Privacy, Anti-Bullying, and Women’s Sports, was being discussed internally.
Before the bill passed the House and Senate on Friday, there were several demonstrations at the Capitol and throughout the state.
What the bill does
The bill, which has undergone significant changes due to discussion and concern over legal action, could prevent students at public K–12 schools from using restrooms or changing rooms different from the sex they were assigned at birth. These restrictions apply to individuals using communal changing rooms.
Intersex or transgender individuals who have had their birth certificates changed to reflect their gender and undergone a significant procedure that reflects their sex, such as phalloplasty, are exempt from these rules. The bill does not specify the requirements for nonbinary people (some of whom may have an X gender marker on their birth certificates rather than an M or F) or the bathroom to be used by those who have undergone one but not the other.
H.B. 257 also emphasizes reporting and criminalizing lewd conduct, pornography, and loitering in public places. Possible penalties include Class B misdemeanors for common loitering and third-degree felonies for engaging in lewd behavior in a sex-designated privacy area inconsistent with the offender’s legal sex.
The bill’s sponsors, Rep. Kera Birkeland and Sen. Daniel McCay, have stated that it aims to protect individuals from harassment and bullying in private spaces.
The backlash
The bill is criticized for discriminating against transgender people, particularly trans youth, and for generally making public restrooms more dangerous and inaccessible.
Transgender individuals are likely to be disproportionately impacted by the bill and some of the harsher penalties because they often use restrooms belonging to the “opposite sex,” despite the sponsors’ denials that they are targeting trans individuals.
Sen. McCay provided examples of harassment and abuse in private spaces on Thursday’s Senate floor to support the bill. When questioned, he could not provide any evidence that transgender people were responsible for any of the crimes.
Kelly Potter, a trans woman and philosophy professor at Utah Valley University, asserted that the alleged issue in this case is based on an urban legend. And in some cases, the outcome will be to put trans people, trans youth, and trans girls in the same perilous situation that Birkeland mistakenly thinks cisgender women are in.
Trans children may be particularly impacted by the bill, especially in light of two bills from the previous session. S.B. 16 prohibited juveniles from receiving gender-affirming hormone or surgeries, while S.B. 93 did not allow minors to change their birth certificate’s gender marker.
Compared to their peers, transgender and gender non-conforming children have a significantly higher risk of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts or actions. 91% of trans youth patients reported depression, 56% reported suicidal ideation, and 31% reported attempting suicide, according to a study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health prior to the national push for anti-trans legislation.
LGBTQ+ organizations and advocates have expressed concern that Utah’s population will rise as a result of this act.
Individuals in Utah are able to legally comply with the bill’s requirements for gender-changing rooms. However, primary sex-specific procedures like vaginoplasty and phalloplasty can be costly and take years to be approved. According to Healthline, vaginoplasty can cost between $10,000 and $30,000 in total. The price of a phalloplasty can range from $20,000 to $50,000, or even as much as $150,000.
Some transgender people, including intersex individuals, decide against having these procedures due to personal preferences or other health conditions.
Jakey Siolo, director of the Nuanua Collective, a Utah-based LGBTQ+ organization for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders, said, “I think it needs to be understood that… being trans does not mean you have to have surgery.”
According to a 2019 study, 4 to 13% of transgender Americans undergo genital surgery.
Concerns about the bill’s use of community monitoring, some of which must be reported to law enforcement, were also voiced by Siolo and other rally speakers.
According to Siolo, “having the community in charge of policing bodies will almost certainly lead to more division, hatred, harm, and violence than we already see toward trans people.”
Demonstrations and community support
Utahns opposed H.B. 257 throughout the month in protests and rallies, including two sit-ins at the Utah Capitol, one walk-out at Utah State University, and another Capitol demonstration on Thursday. The LGBTQ+ community and allies’ response to the bill remained unchanged despite various replacements.
Winona, a trans woman who spoke at the march on Thursday, said that any infringement on the rights of gender non-conforming
people to use public restrooms, changing facilities, and thus access public employment is unacceptable. “We demand all of our rights, not just some of them everywhere.”
H.B. 257 was even opposed by listeners. Equal Opportunity Initiatives, which would abolish diversity, equity, and inclusion offices, emphasized the importance of intersectionality and the protection of all oppressed people, not just the transgender community.
Over a dozen trans Utahns spoke impromptu at the rally in addition to the scheduled speakers. They discussed their experiences, their fear and rage over anti-trans regulations and sentiment, the importance of intersectionality, and the need to unite in the face of transphobia and pro-LGBT sentiment.
One speaker remarked, “If you want to fight for a better future, start with your sisters.” “So, look for people you can help, learn how to step up, and take care of yourself.”
Above all, the march and others like it vowed that the transgender and LGBTQ+ communities would remain united and true to themselves no matter what.
“We must maintain a strong sense of community unity now more than ever. Move into your trans happiness and your gay joy,” Siolo advised. “There won’t be a day in Salt Lake City when we wake up and decide it’s okay to be out in public. We get to live that day by being out in public until who we are is just the way things are.”
